Presented by Adelaide Festival Centre
Reviewed 13 June 2019
Raucous, boisterous and cheeky, Gunhild Carling is a stunning performer to watch. The self-proclaimed ‘Swedish Viking’ captured the audience with her peerless performance and shameless frontwoman persona.
A multi-instrumentalist, Carling can best be described as a power unto herself. Carrying the audience with her profoundly entertaining charisma made her an instant crowd pleaser. It is clear though, it was not so much a persona but what one can only presume to be an embodiment of the sheer passion she has for Jazz.
Citing Louis Armstrong as one of her inspirations, Carling embraced the energy that is Jazz and ran with it in a way many audience members were struggling to catch up, much to their delight. Encouraging a wilful crowd made for an excellent atmosphere where for one thing the mood never dropped from enthusiastic merriment.
Her five piece band were taken by her energy, laughing with the crowd and seemingly enjoying themselves although Carling’s propensity to add lib kept the band constantly on their toes.
Never leaving the crowd wanting, she took the opportunity to show her skill in a number of different dazzling ways. These included playing jazz on a bagpipe and playing the double bass while playing the trumpet spectacularly balanced on her mouth. The band complimented her marvellously at times challenging her skill. Not to be outdone, she performed what could only be described as her party trick by playing three trumpets at the same time.
Throughout the lively show, Gunhild displayed one predominant feature, which was to enjoy herself. The activity of playing Jazz was clearly a joy for her and the audience were sharing that admiration and simple fun.
Reviewed by Simon Lancione
Rating out of 5: 4
Venue: The Famous Spiegletent
Season: Until 14 June 2019
Duration: 70
Tickets: $40.90 – $44.90
Bookings: https://www.adelaidecabaretfestival.com.au/events/gunhild-carling/
Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Cabaret Festival, Jazz, Gunhild Carling
